With the school year coming to a close and graduation just days away, the class of 2016 is looking forward to being seniors next year. Along with the many senior privileges, comes the dreaded college process. The common application essay topics have been released for next year, so here are the top essay tips to get you on the road to success:

Here at Bullis, honors and AP classes are weighted by 5%. These additional points are offered to reward those who enroll in more challenging classes. However, controversy surrounds this practice because some believe that this leads to a lack of fairness. This leads to other questions: should just AP classes be weighted? And, should higher level art and elective classes be weighted also?

On Tuesday May 12, an Amtrak train travelling from Washington D.C to New York City carrying 238 passengers ran off the tracks, slowing only slightly, federal authorities said, before killing at least 7 people and injuring more than 200.

By: Nailah Shaw '15Staff WriterOn June 1st, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. Bullis will hold their 2015 Commencement Ceremony at the Strathmore in Rockville, Maryland. This year’s featured commencement speaker will be Ms. April L. Holmes.

The much anticipated Apple Watch is finally here, and aspirations for it are high. The Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Sport, and the Apple Watch Edition have all been released and customers have taken their pick. The Apple Watch is expected to be a big seller because the watch is much more than a mere time teller. This said, the Apple Watch is having a relatively slow start up because of the high prices and limited availability. However, the Apple Watch has shed the spotlight on the smartwatch category as a whole. The biggest question in regards to the Apple Watch is, "Why do I need one?". The Apple Watch, like all smartwatches, to some people may seem unnecessary. However, the question may be answered by the mere fact of having an iPhone. The main requirement for the watch is an iPhone, so it is specifically marked towards these people.

Students at Bullis have tuned in to the excitement of the Apple Watch. Some students even have their own Apple Watches, and have come to the bulldog to talk about their experience. Bullis Senior, Mike Fan, is one of the people who was able to purchase the Apple Watch when it was first released. Fan says that he made the decision to purchase the watch because, “the sport edition is not that expensive, and it looked really cool on the advertisement.” When Fan was asked if he uses the watch regularly and what the best feature is, he responded, “I wear it everyday. The battery lasts very long. The best feature is being able to track your health data (walking distance, heart rate, etc.). Also, I can read notifications from my phone (email, text, news) really easily.”Fan says that he would recommend the watch to Bullis students because it is a “good watch.” He also says, “I also recommend people to wait for the Apple Watch 2. I believe it will further improve in the next version.”The Apple Watch in all of its anticipation has made its way to Bullis, and more students should utilize the groundbreaking technology.

Unlike other schools, for Bullis students, there is no amount of community service hours that a student has to reach in order to graduate. Throughout a Bullis student’s career, they are always told that community service is optional and that they should only participate if they would like to.

However, as a senior, all students are required to participate in a Habitat for Humanity community service trip. So as students approach the end of their senior year and prepare for these trips the question becomes, is it true that there is no community service requirement in order to graduate? Seniors leave for their trips the third weekend in May right after finishing up exams and right before the graduation activities start to kick off. These trips range from all different locations, like South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania or New Jersey and seniors will be taking part in different community service activities wherever they go. Many students are excited for the fellowship and time together on a trip with their friends.

However, this trip also brings about other emotions for students. Kyle McKenzie ‘15 said, “I just feel like we should have more options than just this trip for doing community service. I would rather have all of the community service I’ve done over my high school career count as my requirement. But with that being said, I’m still excited to go on the trip.”Habitat for Humanity already has plans for what the students will be doing, like building houses for families in need. Seniors also get a day off where they spend a day in the local city or at the beach. Bullis alum Leah Cohn ‘14 said, “At first, I honestly didn’t want to go on the trip. But when I got there with all of my friends, it was actually fun. At the end of the trip when we saw the difference that we made… it was definitely worth it.

This is absolutely the case for most of the seniors. Of course they would rather be at home watching Netflix, but when they see the difference that they will have made in someone’s life, they will have been grateful for the experience.”

As the school year is coming to a close, and the seniors are having their last few weeks at Bullis, the Bullis community is also losing two familiar faces. Dr. Bryja and Mrs. Chehak will be finishing their time at Bullis with the end of this school year.

On April 28th, students working on capstone projects presented their work in the Signature Program Symposium. Students and teachers rotated throughout the day to view each capstone. The first rotation included a viewing of a documentary made by students in the Humanities Capstone. The documentary talked about microfinancing poor women in developing countries. Microfinancing is “a type of banking service that is provided to unemployed or low-income individuals or groups that would otherwise have no other means of gaining financial services.” They specifically talked about the organization A Wider Circle and the Women’s Microfinance Initiative (MWI). The students conducted several interviews with people associated with these organizations and intertwined the interviews with their documentary. At the end of the viewing, they opened up to questions. They explained how they chose their topic, and how they ultimately decided on microfinancing. The documentary was made by seniors Mollie Carroll, Charlotte Traver, Kyah Ayers, and Ashlyn Coleman. The next rotation was a viewing of projects done by students in the STEM Capstone. This rotation began with a 15-minute-long video of the students explaining their projects. After, students got to walk around and ask questions. Some of the projects included: a Bullis composter, a water filter, and blend-it bike. Around mid-day, the entire Upper School gathered in the auditorium for the 2nd annual Bullis Shark Tank. The students presented their ideas in front of a panel of judges, who would then compliment and critique their ideas. This year, the ideas included: a sports drink that prevents cramps, a social media app that connects college students with their friends, and heated socks. The winners of the $10,00 was Team Hot Socks. The afternoon brought more talent. First, students got to view the impressive work from the Visual Arts Capstone. Monica Zuckerman ’15 created clothing. Her work focused on the theme of nature. Nature was represented in her clothing through recognizable color, organic patterns and outside world materials. Minnie Wu ’15 presented her collection of drawings. Her drawings were meticulously detailed and connected the real world and that of fantasy. Jordan Torres ’15 created digital paintings, Lauren Thompson ’15 created paintings with vibrant colors, and Kaliah Hobbs ’15 created drawings with grillz. Last but not least, students viewed presentations from the Performing Arts Capstone. Lily Cantral ’15 presented her choreographed dances, while Stephen Clement ’15 explained his work with sound design.

The day was full of fun and exemplified the many talents of Bullis students.

This past Saturday, April 25th, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal injuring at least 7,000 people and killing 5,000. The quake was the worst to hit Nepal for more than 80 years and even killed people in neighboring China and India. Almost every soldier and police officer in Nepal is involved in the search effort, with dozens of people still trapped under rubble. Vast tent cities have sprung up in the capital, Kathmandu, for those that have been displaced by the quake. The country is facing a shortage of water, food, and electricity. In addition, there are fears of outbreaks of disease, specifically for young children. This tragedy has left a big impact on student Michael Kronmiller ’16 who is working in Nepal for his STEM project. After learning about the earthquake Kronmiller ’16 commented, “It is a tragedy that such an amazing country is subjected to such catastrophic disasters.” Mike visited Nepal over spring break to present his STEM drone project to students in Nepal. He commented about his project, “My STEM Capstone involves working with students in Nepal to design a drone that has the ability to find people in avalanches. I had already been working with a group of students there for over a month and was extremely worried for their safety when I had first heard about the earthquake. Once I found out that all of the students were safe I tried to find ways that I, and all of the Bullis School could help Nepal recover. I plan to hold a fundraiser of some sort in the near future.” After hearing about the tragic news, people across the globe have come together to help with relief efforts. However, there is still a lot of work left. Kronmiller ‘16 commented that, “Showing support is extremely important. Even donating a small amount of money can make a huge difference in the efforts in Nepal. I strongly suggest supporting groups such as UNICEF and World Food Organization.” If you would like to help with relief efforts in Nepal, here a few recommended organizations along with UNICEF and World Food Organization:1. One Heart World-Wide, a maternal-child health NGO: http://www.oneheartworld-wide.org/index.php/donate/donate_donate/2. American Nepal Medical Foundation, on the ground in Nepal since 1997, run by Nepali doctors in conjunction with US doctors: https://life.indiegogo.com/fun…/nepal-earthquake-relief-fund3. Mercy Corps, works throughout Nepal, decades of experience: https://www.mercycorps.org/d…/earthquake-survivers-need-you…4. Waves for Water, very good for water-related relief, which is desperately needed: http://www.wavesforwater.org/project/nepalreliefinitiative5. We also recommend The Red Crosshttp://www.redcross.org/news/article/Red-Cross-Responding-to-78-Magnitude-Earthquake-in-Nepal